How sensitive are they? And how did the military respond?

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An Associated Press survey of several file transfer protocol servers run by government agencies or contractors found documents that officials, when asked for them directly, deemed too sensitive to release.

A sample of the documents downloaded from FTP sites both by the AP and Christopher Freeman, a North Carolina resident who has privately researched the subject for years:

FOUND ONLINE: Photos, graphics and charts that outline the security features, as well as proposed upgrades to the facility's perimeter fencing, at Tallil Air Base in southeastern Iraq.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. A spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq said the material could jeopardize the security of troops at the base.

THE RESPONSE: The Corps of Engineers has changed its policies for storing material online.

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FOUND ONLINE: Documents containing aerial photographs and detailed schematics of Camp Bucca, a military base in southern Iraq used to hold detainees.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. CH2M Hill referred document requests to the military. The Army Corps of Engineers labeled the documents as sensitive and requested that the AP promptly dispose of them.

THE RESPONSE: The Corps of Engineers has changed its policies for storing material online.

FOUND ONLINE: Detailed maps of buildings and infrastructure at Fort Sill, an Army base in Oklahoma.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. Benham Companies LLC said the maps were sensitive and should have been password protected. Officials at Fort Sill initially expressed concern that the documents could provide "bad guys a map of bombing targets," but later said they would make it available via a Freedom of Information Act request.

THE RESPONSE: Benham plans to secure its site in response to the Corps of Engineers' new policy.

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FOUND ONLINE: Schematic drawings of possible security upgrades at Fort Campbell, an Army base that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. CH2M Hill referred document requests to the military. Officials at Fort Campbell said CH2M could release the documents, but requested they not be published "so as to protect the safety and security of the many soldiers who live and train on Fort Campbell."

THE RESPONSE: CH2M Hill said the drawings were not classified and handled appropriately.

FOUND ONLINE: A document describing detailed parts of the Department of Defense's NIPRNet system, which the agency uses to swap sensitive _ but not classified _ documents.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. SRA International Inc. referred document requests to the government, but was not concerned because the document was on an FTP server and not a Web site. The Department of Defense said the document is not meant for public release, saying it "could assist a hacker in getting into one of our systems."

FOUND ONLINE: Several documents depicting a proposed technology that would detect enemy snipers in urban environments. One file describes the classification levels _ some secret and some top secret _ of the developing program.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is coordinating the program with Los Alamos National Laboratory, said the classification document is not for public use.

THE RESPONSE: Los Alamos has shut down its FTP site, but said it was unrelated to the AP's inquiry.

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FOUND ONLINE: A manual that described in detail how to operate a Navy encryption/decryption device used for communication. Found by Freeman, and shown to the AP.

WHERE WAS IT? The FTP site of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. The command said the manual could not be released because it contained details of "critical technology that is export-controlled."

THE RESPONSE: Freeman said he later helped the command secure its FTP site.

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FOUND ONLINE: Photographs and graphics detailing the inner workings of missiles developed at Sandia National Laboratories, including plans to improve payload delivery systems. Found by Freeman, and shown to the AP.

WOULD THEY RELEASE IT? No. Sandia National Laboratories refused, saying the document contained export-controlled information and was improperly placed on the site.

THE RESPONSE: Sandia is currently undergoing a security upgrade to its FTP site, but said it was unrelated to the AP's inquiry.